Quote:
Originally Posted by Tustin714
(Post 2274617)
Beatlemaniacs is a great club, and starts pretty promptly at 10:00; many/most people seem to be there around 9:45 or so. You'll enjoy it.
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Yes, BEATLEMANIACS is a lot of fun, and it is a good example of music groups in The Villages. As clubs go, it’s a little weird—not really a club. It’s really a weekly concert by a large band of talented musicians dedicated to being able to play every Beatles song as well as possible. Many in the band have played with it for years. It’s not really a club you join. It’s more invitation only. I was spotted when I moved here by one of the band leaders who invited me to sit in. I did, with an acoustic guitar and no mic, and had a wonderful time. I stopped going after a couple months because I wasn’t really needed, and I had ended up in nine musical groups, and I needed to cut back because I was burning out. I dropped half the groups and just stayed in some where I not only enjoyed the music but was a valued soloist. Now there are just three where I play every week and some others I visit on occasion.
Meanwhile, Beatlemaniacs has an AUDIENCE every week that is sometimes 200 people. You don’t have to JOIN to be part of the audience. You just go and listen and have a terrific time.
In all of the groups in which I’ve played, an audience is ALLOWED—you can come listen if you want to—but not all of them usually HAVE an audience. Some of the groups, if you like that sort of music, you can just show up and play if you know how. The jazz groups and orchestral ensemble are pretty much limited to long-time members trained as musicians or music teachers. Their meetings are pretty much rehearsals. You are free to sit there and listen, and occasionally someone does, but not to try to play along. Most of the musical groups I tried, by contrast, allow people to show up with an instrument and play along. If they do, and if they want, their name and e-mail will be added to the list of members. There is no other signing up to do. Some of us are devoted to being as good as possible. Others just enjoy the music and want to play along. Both are welcome in general in The Villages. All of the clubs where I play exist for anyone interested, not just for the best players. I see part of my job in each group where I play as encouraging people and helping them be what they want to be. I share pointers, sometimes fix their instruments, etc. There’s room for all of us. Meanwhile, the audience that shows up, which is occasionally over a hundred people, does NOT join and aren’t members.
Don’t trust the list of clubs to be completely accurate. In my experience, it’s not unusual for the contact info to be wrong. You can call or write and see. I know one musical group that actually meets a couple hours earlier than advertised. The group aim on the page may also have shifted.
Each musical club has nice people in it, but the group dynamic varies quite a bit. For example, there is a dulcimer club where members are expected to learn to read standard notation or tablature and all play the songs the same way. I understand there are ukulele clubs packed with beginners just shaving a great time. There are harmonica clubs with enthusiastic players. There is a big Folk Music club that may have forty guitar players going at the same time—including many in the audience—and everyone, including the audience, sings at the top of their lungs. The Hampton Singers is really mostly singers and guitar players where everyone has a mic and the repertoire is often sixties and seventies rock. There are a couple clubs where several hundred people come to sing country or bluegrass gospel songs. There are banjo groups and an autoharp group.
Some clubs are more for listening than playing. For example, the Villages Blues Society brings in talented blues bands many times a year. They play in Rec centers. You buy tickets online if you want to attend. All the money goes to pay the band. Come listen, but leave your guitar at home.
